


A New life

by ChocoNut



Series: Many ways to say I love you [46]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and happy ending, Post Season 8, Post canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-19 01:26:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19346740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocoNut/pseuds/ChocoNut
Summary: Jaime wakes up from a coma after five years.





	A New life

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the JBO Anniversary Celebration prompt - Five Years after the War, dedicated to all the lovely ladies of JBO
> 
> I know nothing about Coma patients or their symptoms, so take this with a pinch of salt. I don't even know if they can be revived after five years. But this is fiction and in my world, Jaime can come back after 5 years.

_Where the hell am I?_

The moment his eyelids fluttered open, Jaime looked around to find himself lying on a bed in a lavishly-furnished room, semi-dark and perfectly suitable for undisturbed sleep. The surrounding light told him that it wasn’t day, and a quick glance out of the window confirmed his suspicion. It was nearly dusk.

_How long have I been asleep?_

His head heavy and his mind hazy, he tried to sit up, but to his dismay, he found that his body was stiff and even something as simple as getting up from the bed felt like a tremendous effort. Helpless, he resigned to his state, waiting for someone to arrive. The room appeared to be familiar, and strangely, he felt at home. He was about to shout for assistance, when the door groaned open and in came a child of about five.

One look at him and her eyes widened in surprise. “He’s alive,” she screamed at the top of her voice, rushing outside, slamming the door behind her.

_Alive? Have I been dead? What is this place? Who is this child and what is she doing in the same room as me?_

Only then did Jaime sense that something was wrong. Something wasn’t _normal_ about him. He remembered his name, but nothing more, nothing that could give him a hint of where he was or how he had landed here. Desperate to find out more about his situation, he strained his brain for answers.

_“You’re not your sister,” she sobbed, “you’re a good man.”_

_“You think I’m a good man?” he sadly asked, knowing he didn’t deserve her love._

_“Stay with me,” she begged, “please. Stay…”_

_He shoved her hand away with a heavy heart. “She’s hateful, and so am I.”_

When he opened his eyes this time, only one name came to his mind. _Brienne._

“Ser Jaime!”

Jaime turned to the door to find a plump, bearded lad standing there, accompanied by the little girl who had bolted off on seeing him. The man seemed awfully familiar, though Jaime couldn’t easily place his name.

“How long have you been awake?” the man inquired, approaching him and checking his pulse.

“Tarly,” Jaime suddenly remembered, images of Winterfell swimming in his mind’s eye. “Samwell Tarly, isn’t it?”

The cheerful lad gave him a huge smile and an enthusiastic nod. “This is nothing short of a miracle, Ser Jaime!” he exclaimed as he began to examine him. “I never thought you’d--” he paused “--come back to normal.”

Jaime still couldn’t understand. “What miracle?” he asked, confused. “Where am I?”

Sam narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you recognize this place?”

Jaime had to fight for his memories again. _Cersei. His father. Tyrion._ “The Red Keep,” he whispered when it finally came back to him, “my bedchambers.”

Sam’s grin widened. “I can’t wait to tell--”

“--Brienne,” said Jaime, scanning the room again, hoping to find the one face that was vividly carved in his mind. “Where is she?”

Sam checked his forehead. “You’re still weak,” he said firmly, “I’ll inform Ser Brienne, but you have to sleep now. You can meet her in the morning after you’ve had some rest.”

The maester turned to leave when Jaime called out to him. “Sam, how long have I been asleep?”

“Five years.”

+++++

Jaime opened his eyes to a tall, strapping figure sitting by his bedside. Neat blond hair cropped short and the vivid blue eyes that were as beautiful as they’d been when he’d last seen them--he was filled by a pang of despair when he remembered--they’d been brimming with tears then, tears he was responsible for.

“Wench,” he croaked, managing what he thought was an attempt to a smile.

“Jaime,” she spoke his name, her voice hoarse and her eyes moist.

“Don’t cry, my lady,” he tried to console her, her tears the last thing he’d ever want to see.

“I’m not,” Brienne made an attempt to sound normal.

“Five years, huh.” He peered at her closely. “How have you been, Brienne?”

“Good,” came her reply in an even tone.

“That little girl,” he asked tentatively, wondering if she had a husband or a family, “is she yours?”

She shook her head. “Sam’s daughter.”

“Did you--” he hesitated slightly before asking, hoping her answer would be in his favour because five years was too long a time, and things could change “--marry in all these years?”

He heaved a visible sigh of relief when she shook her head.

“Is there anyone else in your life?”

Again, she denied it, infusing him with a new lease of life.

“What are you up to these days?” he inquired.

“The Kingsguard,” she informed him, “I’m the Lord Commander.”

Jaime’s heart soared with pride. “I’m so proud of you, wench, though--” his happiness quickly evaporated when he realized what being in the Kingsguard meant. “Does the Dragon Queen have the same rules for the Kingsguard?” He racked his brain to recall his vows, “I shall take no wife, father no children…” he trailed away, unable to remember the rest of it.

Brienne’s forehead creased in a frown. “Daenerys Targaryen died soon after the fall of King’s Landing, murdered by Jon Snow,” she revealed, leaving him stunned. All that mayhem, all the bloodshed, and this was how she eventually ended. All for nothing, such was the Targaryen girl’s wretched life.

Curiosity began eating him from the inside. “Who then--”

“I serve King Bran,” she answered the question that was on the tip of his tongue.

Jaime bit the inside of his cheek, for this was no better news than Daenerys becoming queen. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to see me take the black,” he said wryly, his heart sinking. “He has old scores to settle with me.”

“He has pardoned you.” Another surprise. “You’re a free man, Jaime, with the liberty to live wherever you wish.”

There was one other important thing that Jaime had to know. “How did I get here?”

“We extricated you from the debris,” she told him, “you were buried alive. You suffered a near-fatal blow to the head that left you unconscious for all these years.”

“You kept me alive for five years?” He couldn’t believe he’d been lying uselessly on a bed for such a long time.

“Sam was in charge of your medication. He used to diligently monitor your progress.”

“And who looked after me? My day-to-day needs?” He glanced around the room again, and this time, when he looked properly, he found a pile of women’s small clothes on the corner table. “Have you been living with me?”

Brienne dropped her gaze, blushing. “I’ve been here with you, just to make sure someone was  around when you woke up.”

“ _If_ I woke up,” he corrected her. “You weren’t sure I’d come out of it, were you?”

“No.” She shook her head. “But I was hopeful.”

“You took care of me, did every damn thing for me.” It was a statement, not a question, for he knew no one else would’ve done such a thing for him. “You never gave up on me. Why?”

“Because I loved--” she sniffed, fighting back her tears “-- _love_ you. I prayed to the gods every damn night for the next morning to be the one I could see you open your eyes to.”

“I broke your heart,” he lamented, when he remembered all that he’d done, when his past deeds and the injustice he’d done her came back to haunt him. “And you still love me?” he asked her in disbelief.

“Five years, Jaime,” she croaked, struggling to speak, “for five damn years, I’ve been sleeping next to you, holding your hand, talking to you and reading to you, telling you how much I care for you though I knew you weren’t listening to one word. For five years, I’ve wanted nothing but to hear your voice again, to look into your eyes just one more time even if it were the last, and you dare ask me if I love--” she broke down, unable to say another word.

His heart aching for her, Jaime pulled her into his arms, completely at a loss for words. He kissed her hair, overwhelmed by the extent of her feelings for him. “You love me so much?” he asked, when he'd found his tongue.

She nodded into his chest.

“I don’t deserve you, Brienne,” he said, his guilt getting the better of him.

She jerked away, looking up at him, her eyes red and swollen. “Do you still love me, Jaime?”

“More than anything else,” he admitted, “more than my life. I loved _you_ the day I left you, not Cersei.”

“Then shut the hell up and never again make the mistake of thinking that you don’t deserve me,” she scolded him softly, pressing her lips to his.

She felt like heaven, like a breath of fresh air, like the new life he’d been granted. _I’ll give her the rest of my life,_ he decided, kissing her hungrily, for he was, indeed, a man starved for human touch and affection for five fucking years.

“Don’t cry, wench, there will be no more tears,” he promised her, wiping her cheeks, “Now’s the time for us to live. Together. I’ve been granted a new life today and I wish to spend every minute of it with you.”

“These are tears of joy,” she said, smiling, “the gods have finally answered my prayers.”

“Now that we’re finally together,” he said, remembering the little girl he’d first seen, “I’d say we waste no time in making a family of our own.”

“All in good time,” she assured him, reddening, “once you’ve completely recovered.”

“I can’t wait,” he complained, wrapping his arms around her.

“I’ve waited five years for you,” she whispered into his mouth as she kissed him again, “what’s another few days?”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and do let me know if you liked it.


End file.
